UTHSC programs highlighted at President's
Council luncheon

(L-R) Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, Health Science Center
president; Dolph Briscoe Jr., former governor of Texas;
Joci Straus, president of the UTHSC Development Board;
and Sam Barshop, former UT Regent and member of the
Development Board, arrive at the Development Board
meeting and President's Council luncheon.

The future of the
Health Science Center
has never looked
brighter, according to
members of the
university's
Development Board
and President's
Council.

"The Health Science
Center has seen
tremendous growth
throughout the years,"
said Dolph Briscoe Jr.,
former governor of
Texas and UTHSC
Development Board
member, as he
addressed fellow board
members during their
Aug. 20 meeting held
at the Omni Hotel.

"With six campuses —
the Central Campus on
Floyd Curl Drive, the
North Campus down
the road on Floyd
Curl, the Texas
Research Park
Campus, the Regional
Academic Health
Center in Harlingen
and Edinburg and the
Laredo Campus — the
Health Science Center
is a regional institution
without boundaries,
providing education
and health care to
those who need it the
most in South Texas.
The university is
poised to reach more
people in need than
ever in its history,"
Briscoe said. "We are
well on our way to
becoming one of the
best in the world."

Jocelyn Straus,
president of the
Development Board,
thanked the board
members for their
leadership in raising
$90 million from the
private sector over the
past few years. Dr.
Cigarroa then
challenged the board
to raise
$300 million in the
next five years for
new research facilities,
new degree
and research
programs, and
the recruitment of new
faculty
and clinicians.

"As we grow and
expand our research,
outreach and
influence, we also will
need to consistently
expand our
resources," he said.
Dr. Cigarroa
congratulated the
Development Board
members and thanked
them for their
continued support.

The President's
Council luncheon
immediately followed
the Development
Board meeting. More
than 150 attended.
Straus reported
highlights of the
Development Board
meeting and
congratulated the
President's Council
members on their
recruitment of 40 new
members this year.

Attendees were introduced
to the newest department
chairs and to the
university's Ambassador
Scholars. They also had the
pleasure of meeting some of
the patients of the Health
Science Center, and of
hearing their remarkable
success stories.
Jose and Rosa Rangel and
their three children,
Leonardo, 14; Morelia, 6;
and Alan, 18 months, were
among those present. The
Rangel family lost a fourth
child to a mysterious liver
disorder. Pediatric
geneticists at the Health
Science Center discovered
that this rare genetic
disorder was being passed
on from both parents to the
Rangel children, threatening
the children's lives. Dr.
Cigarroa was a part of the
transplant team that
performed a liver transplant
on Morelia when she was 5,
and on Alan when he was
only 1. Both children have
benefited from the efforts of
the Health Science Center's
pediatric genetics and
transplant teams. Today, the
children live healthy, happy
lives.

(L-R) Luis de la Garza,
President's Council co-chair,
presents Dr. Merle Olson, dean
of the Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences, and Dr.
Alan Frazer, chairman of the
department of pharmacology,
with a President's Council
award in support of
neuroscience and genetics
research.

Also featured was Rosita
Martinez Herrera, whose life
was tragically transformed by
a series of setbacks, including
open-heart surgery, a car
accident, a stroke and the
side effects of those
incidences, all of which
occurred within a six-week period. Fortunately, Antonio Treviño, physical therapy student, was there to help through her ordeal.

"I was fortunate to have Antonio as my primary physical therapist," Herrera said. "His therapy skills and bedside manner are superb. His future patients will benefit greatly, as I have."

George Miller, 82, a patient in the Clinical Geriatric Dentistry Program, praised Dr. Sarah Dirks for the care she provides him. Dr. Dirks is a fellow in the Geriatric Dental Fellowship Program. Miller has a pacemaker and is taking several medications for various medical conditions that make his dental needs very specialized. He said he places his confidence in Dr. Dirks to provide him with the kind of specialized care he now requires.

These patient stories were a testament to the outstanding programs, faculty and students at the Health Science Center.

The President's Council recognized some of the university's new and emerging programs with the presentation of the President's Council awards. Individual checks in the amount of $25,000 went to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences for its Center for Biomedical Sciences; the Dental School for its Dental Student Training in Academics and Research Program; the School of Medicine for its Hispanic Center of Excellence; the School of Nursing for its Nursing Student Retention Program; and the School of Allied Health Sciences for its Student Scholarship Fund.

Dr. Cigarroa concluded the luncheon with words of thanks and appreciation. "These are just a few of the many remarkable programs offered at the Health Science Center. I thank all of you for being involved in changing lives and improving health right here in San Antonio and throughout our South Texas Region. Together, we are building a brighter tomorrow."